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Hussar
A Hussar (Huszaric: ; Pronunciation: həˈzɑːr, huh-ZAR'') is a specific type of cavalryman hailing from, and mostly unique to the Huszaric territories of the continent of Vildskanor.'' Known for their ornate style of dress and superb horsemanship, Hussars are one of the primary cultural icons of the Huszaric Clans and one of the few elements of Skanoric culture to have spread beyond Vildskanor itself, with mercenary bands of Hussars and indeed some official Hussaric Regiments being used by nations of the Eastern Kingdoms. Etymology The etymology of the word ''Hussar springs from the Huszaric term Huszár, which by the modern day refers both to this specific type of cavalry; a raider, brigand or pirate; and, more indirectly, a member of the Huszaric Clans. The term is more indirectly believed to have originated from the Huszaric words Húsz, meaning twenty and ár, the word for an acre. Thus a Hussar is a Soldier of Twenty Acres, so named because they were originally raised via a tax or service levied from those clansmen who owned twenty acres of land. An alternate hypothesis for the word is that it is linked to the word Ulduszar, which is the name of a rumoured titan facility located in the unexplored regions of Vildskanor. The existence of such a facility is, however, unproven. Additionally, the word is believed to be related to, and possibly the origin of, the Old Arathorian word , itself meaning ''raider or pirate and the name of a type of Arathorian auxiliary based upon the Vildskanoric Hussars. This word is in turn the origin of the Common word'' corsair.'' Origins and History The First Hussars The first mention of Hussars in any historical document dates back to approximately 4,500 P.C, around five thousand years before the opening of the Dark Portal and, similarly, about five thousand years after the Sundering. Skanoric and Ciernic oral and written accounts in the years begin to make mention of sporadic raiding by unknown races or creatures on settlements in the north-eastern forests and wastes of Vildskanor, which had previously been found to be uninhabited by any sentient race and thus colonised by the men of Vildskanor during times of population boom. Later, following a marked increase in such raids, the perpetrators were identified as what was believed at the time to be some new race, as stated by an account from the manuscripts located in The Great Migrations: Volume III: The Huszari, a Skanoric history tome recounting the origins of the local human population. Due to the fact that, before the Huszaric Migration, Vildskanor was uninhabited by horses or other equines, it is likely that these records of "man-goat hybrids" were instead a mis-identification of the first hussars. Regardless, the tactics of the roving bands mirror those of the modern hussars, with a focus on skirmishing and attacking weakened targets, while retreating or scattering when faced by a powerful foe such as heavy infantry or cavalry. The initial appearance of hussars as simple raiders to the men of Vildskanor would also result in the words Husar and Cossar taking on the meaning of brigand or raider, in Skanoric and Govoric respectively. Hussars during the time of the Skanoric Clans Although the guerrilla tactics of the Huszaric Clans were easily able to force the Skanoric and Govoric clansmen from their outlying farms and colonies, the cavalry-based forces of the Huszari proved unable to defeat the more heavily fortified villages and holdfasts of their enemies, resulting in an effective stalemate that soon led to a truce and the integration the newcomers and their culture into local society. In this time the hussars remained the primary military force of the Huszaric clans. As many of the clans remained migratory, the hussars served as force designed to both protect their clan and any Skanoric farmers and villagers within their clan's sphere of influence. These farmers would typically pay tribute to the local Huszari in return for protection from other raiding clans, while also forming units of lightly armed levies to support the Hussars in any pitched battle, rare as they were. Additionally, in the later years of this period many hussar warbands chose to hire themselves out to various Skanoric, Ciernic or Govoric minor powers as mercenaries in the various wars that would break out across Vildskanor. In this role the hussars were used in their preferred as a scouting and skirmishing force, while in pitched battles (more common among the southern clans than among the Huszari) they were placed on the flanks to counter enemy hussars, with a minor role of chasing routing enemy units and preventing their own allies from routing. As the men of Vildskanor had yet to truly adopt the horse as a weapon of war, the hussars were the only cavalry on the continent at this time. While this let them be unmatched in mobility, their lack of heavy armour made them unable to counter the clustered infantry formations favoured in this period, forcing the above roles to be their only use until the start of the Troll Wars. Though the majority of these Huszaric warbands operated solely on their own continent, a small number of more adventurous groups chose to explore the lands on the other side of the southern Skanoric Waygate, where they served as mercenaries among the human clans of the Eastern Kingdoms. The Time of Vannesyr By approximately 2000 years after the Huszaric Migration, the political situation of Vildskanor had effectively stagnated. Each of the various minor tribes of the sixteen Skanoric Clans had gradually unified with their parent clans, though they would sporadically subjugate other tribes of their own clan and engage in inter-tribal warfare over land with the tribes of other clans, with most large territories only lasting until the death of their conquerors. It was in these brushfire conflicts that the mercenary and raiding tactics of the hussars thrived. Minor warbands would hire themselves out to the Skanoric and Govoric tribes, gaining enough wealth that they were able to return to the steppes and recruit enough mercenaries to form their own territories, which in turn would later be conquered by other empowered warbands. This status quo would eventually be disrupted by the rise of the warlord , who managed to conqueror all the territories located in the primary concentration of Huszaric lands, the area known in the modern day as Huszaria. Now united, the hussars spread northwards to conquer large areas of Cierna, with Csaba's plans being to impose his rule over the remaining Huszaric Clans, the Korppari, Meri and Käärlari. The smaller Huszaric clans, due to their own territories comprising of marshes and forest instead of steppes, lack cavalry forces on the scale of their kinsmen, and thus Csaba soon held dominion over all of northern Vildskanor. The scale of this new territory meant that Csaba also ruled over all four of the Huszaric clans, along with four of the six Govoric clans. Csaba's conquest of the Huszaric territories resulted in a influx of hussar warbands moving into southern Vildskanor, mostly in an attempt to escape his rule. Many of these warbands would be rallied under the young priest Vannesyr a Korppari, who had begun to receive prophetic visions from the Skanoric gods. Under Vannesyr, the hussar wabands quickly mastered combined arms warfare with both the Skanoric heavy infantry and their own light scouts. Using this new force, Vannesyr quickly conquered or confederated with the clans of southern Vildskanor, before turning his united forces north to advance on Csaba's territories. While the conflict between Vannesyr and Csaba initially followed the standard format of raiding and avoiding pitched battles, Csaba's increasing tyranny and frustration with the perceived upstarts resulted in his fall to the use of Fel Magic and his eventual possession by the Dreadlord Baal'zerac. This eventually led to the last battle of the conflict, the Battle of Csabaüreg, which saw Csaba's fel empowered hussars prove dominant over the Skanoric heavy infantry, before the battle was settled by single combat between Vannesyr and Csaba. Vannesyr's victory over Csaba and the resulting unification of Vildskanor saw a notable change for the hussar warbands. Although Vannesyr was far more lenient than Csaba and thus still allowed for minor raiding and conflict between tribes, the unification still saw a major decrease in such conflicts and thus many of the hussar warbands began to range father abroad, hiring their forces out to human clans all across the Eastern Kingdoms. Troll Wars The increasing number of hussar warbands venturing out into the Eastern Kingdoms resulted in an increase in contact between the clans of Vildskanor and the rest of humanity. As many of the these warbands eventually came into the service of Emperor-King Thoradin, it was simply a matter of time before news of the Arathorian Empire reached Vildskanor. Though the Skanori were initially reluctant to join the empire, the beginnings of the Troll Wars saw Vannesyr lead the unified armies his clans in support of Thoradin and the High Elves. Once again, the Hussars proved vital for cavalry support and scouting for the allied armies. Initially finding that their sabres were unable to deal a proper killing blow to the trolls, who would soon regenerate and heal any slashes or cuts, the Hussar troops adapted the long spears used by the Arathorian legionnaries for use on horseback, effectively creating the lance in the process. When couched while charging, the lance was able to easily kill a troll if it hit them in the chest, which, combined with the Hussar's stirrups, which gave them a greater effectiveness than standard human cavalry, led to the Skanori providing the main cavalry force for the Arathorians throughout the wars. Age of the Empire Image and Dress Armaments and Tactics Notable Individuals and Units Notes Notes * While this page is entirely fanon, it does draw heavily from the Hungarian Hussars of real history. As such, should anyone wish to develop Hussars unrelated to this fanon, they should feel free to move this page to a more specific name such as Hussar (Vildskanor) and create a disambiguation. Footnotes and References Category:Military Category:Soldiers Category:Cavalry